Republican Rick Scott holds a 49 - 43 percent lead over State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink,
the Democrat, in the race to become Florida's next governor, according to today's Quinnipiac
University poll of likely voters whose overall low opinion of President Barack Obama appears to
be dragging Sink down.

Scott's lead comes despite a television advertising campaign that voters say they find
annoying, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey, conducted by live
interviewers, finds. This first likely voter general election survey in Florida in this election cycle
can not be compared with prior surveys of registered voters.

Although Scott holds a 6-point lead in the horse race, the candidates have almost
identical favorability ratings from Florida likely voters: 39 - 39 percent for Sink and 41 - 40
percent for Scott.

"Rick Scott's millions in TV advertising may annoy voters, but it won him the Republican
nomination and is pushing him to a 6-point general election lead," said Peter A. Brown, assistant
director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"It's no surprise that Scott's campaigning and advertising has been trying to tie State
CFO Alex Sink to President Barack Obama. The president's low ratings, especially among
independents who are likely to decide the governor's race, are a problem for Ms. Sink's
campaign."

"It's a fair bet that if the president had a 56 - 40 percent approval rating, instead of the
opposite, Sink probably would be ahead," Brown added.

Although Sink could become Florida's first female governor, there is only a small gender
gap in the matchup: Women support Scott 47 - 43 percent while men back him 50 - 42 percent.

Only 14 percent of likely voters who name a candidate say they might change their mind,
including 16 percent of Sink backers and 13 percent of Scott supporters.

"There aren't very many undecided voters and relatively few who say they might switch
their allegiance, which means this race is likely to be close until Election Day," said Brown.
"Whichever side does the best job getting its people to the polls is likely to be the winner."

Scott's edge in the horse race may be tied to the public perception that he would be better
able to rebuild the state's economy, 48 - 39 percent, than can Ms. Sink. On rebuilding the
economy, Scott enjoys a 48 - 34 percent lead among independent voters.

Scott, a former health care executive, was a political unknown until last spring when he
began the biggest television advertising campaign in Florida political history.

Among likely voters, 89 percent said they had seen Scott's TV ads and 54 percent of that
group call the ads annoying, while 40 percent say they are informative. But 43 percent of likely
voters say Scott's campaign advertising is "the right amount" while 38 percent call it "excessive,"
and 11 percent say "not enough."

Almost as many likely voters, 87 percent, have seen Sink's commercials. This group splits
47 - 46 percent on whether the ads are informative or annoying. More than half, 51 percent, say
the Sink ad spending is "about right," while 17 percent call it "excessive" and 21 percent say it's
"not enough."

From September 23 - 28, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,151 Florida likely voters with
a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the
nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.

1. If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were
Alex Sink the Democrat and Rick Scott the Republican, for whom would you vote?
(If undecided) If you had to choose today, would you vote for Sink or Scott?
(This table includes Leaners).

18. Thinking about the Scott campaign's amount of advertising on television,
radio, and through mail, do you think Rick Scott's campaign advertising has been
excessive, just about right, or not enough?

26. I am going to mention four phrases and ask you which one best describes how
you feel about the way the state government works. Do you feel enthusiastic,
satisfied but not enthusiastic, dissatisfied but not angry, or angry?